


A Friend In Me

by Stephicness



Series: Ardyn and Tabby [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Headcanon, Parent-Child Relationship, Prequel, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 11:58:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9322586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stephicness/pseuds/Stephicness
Summary: For a man of no consequence, he found it rather hard to believe that the little red-haired girl running down the street existed in the world. It was like looking at a ghost in the mirror.





	

Ardyn Izunia’s not the kind of man who weighs himself down on the responsibilities he should have, considering that he always has a bigger endgame in mind. He probably wouldn’t know that he had a daughter for some time, having his flings in the past for the sake of ‘living’ up his immortal life. The same redundant procedures, etc. But what might be odd about the situation for Ardyn is that he is very careful not to leave much behind. A forgotten king who just wanted to be forgotten. And with the passing years, Ardyn’s only become more weary about a legacy he wished to end.

And yet here he was, stopped in his place as he came upon a familiarly haunting face. A little girl, as a matter of fact, a large orange cat in her arms and scurrying past him while wheezing an ‘‘Scuse me!’ as she comes rushing by. Ardyn could only stare in surprise at the child’s appearance. Perhaps it could be anyone’s child, but something felt odd about her in particular.

Perhaps Ardyn should have found himself thrown into jail for observing the young girl, but he ended up doing it anyway. Discrete in his actions as he checked on the girl more, learning every little bit he could about her as the day proceeded. Well, he tried to be discrete. But that orange cat apparently seemed to have a knack of running away from the little girl and getting her to chase after it. And that cat ran, jumping onto Ardyn’s lap as the man ‘read’ a local newspaper and stared at Ardyn with a blank stare. Ardyn quickly caught the cat before it could escape, holding it by its scruff before he looked down at the little girl who stared at him with big brown eyes as her wine-colored hair is tossed all over the place in messy curls and cowlicks. Looking at her closer, he could definitely see a frightening resemblance.

“How come Squishy lets you hold him like that…?” She seemed more surprised by the fact that Ardyn was able to hold her cat and not have it run away from her than the fact that they looked oddly alike. Perhaps it was just a childhood attention span, or just a general interest in cats more than people. She promptly reached out, making grabby hands for the cat. “I wanna hold him!”

Ardyn could only tilt his head in amusement before he glanced at the mischievous cat but didn’t make an effort to turn it back. He turned back to the little girl, raising an eyebrow at her. “Squishy? Why on Earth would you name a cat Squishy?”

“Because he is a squishy fat cat.”

“Then why not name it something else? I would have called him something more along the lines of ‘Chubby.’“

“Because he’s Squishy. Not Chubby.”

…Well, she did make a point. She named it that, so there wasn’t really any use in debating it. Ardyn shrugged and returned the cat to the little girl’s arms. “You know, if a cat runs away from you, you’re probably doing something it dislikes. Do your frighten it, perhaps?”

The little girl shook her head, frowning as she looked down at her cat and squeezed a bit more. The cat didn’t do much to resist either. It never really did unless it wanted to run off and explore before coming home. “Squishy’s my only friend. He just wants me to catch him, so he knows I’m his friend too.”

The pout on the little girl’s face was enough to make even Ardyn’s mischievous smile soften. Sympathetic he was, especially when he knew what a lifetime of loneliness meant. He noticed how grumpy she looked, but he gave a small sigh before he knelt down to her height. “Well, if you ever want another friend, all you have to do is ask.”

It was that moment onward that the wine-haired man and the little girl became close friends. Over the years, Ardyn had traveled about all of Eos, going about his journey and pilgrimage to prepare for the day that the Lucii would regret every betraying him. And yet, as his quest for vengeance continued, so did his days in contacting the little girl whom had befriended him. He would send her letters and cards from the many places and kingdoms he’s traveled to, made sure he sent her gifts as well for every birthday, every holiday, every occasion where he thought was gift was suitable. 

And in return, the little girl did the same. She would write about her life in the city, about the tragedies of her mother passing away or Squishy having to be put down, of the achievements of becoming a veterinarian and marrying a wealthy business man, of happiness as she had brought in a young boy to the world. These letters were the one thing that Ardyn was allowed to keep to himself over these long and lonely years: a reminder that perhaps the world had some good in it.

Until one day, the letters stopped. Twenty years of writing came to an end.

Ardyn returned back to the city, hoping to find her, but the house that she lived in had new tenants. She wasn’t in her favorite spots in the plaza or the markets either. The man had asked what happened to her, to the locals, hoping to have an answer for why the little girl from twenty years ago hadn’t sent him a letter since.

And _god._ He found himself dreading the answer.

She had decided to travel outside of the city for the first time in her life, taking her and her family with her. But they weren’t able to get there before night had fallen and daemons attacked. 

Nobody had survived that counter.

“They said that she was going to visit her father after twenty years. I can’t imagine how her father must feel.”

Ardyn cast his gaze aside, tilting his hat further down his head to conceal his eyes as he gave a small nod. “Yes… I can’t imagine.” So with a bow of thanks, Ardyn turned and walked away, letting his hat conceal his eyes until he finally left the city.

The life of a mortal is short. Fragile. And it was then that Ardyn realized just how fragile it truly was.

**Author's Note:**

> So on Tumblr, I often find myself getting headcanons for Ardyn and a possible daughter. So as I was writing these, it became a rather popular writing prompt for me when it comes to these two. Thus, to keep them together in a proper series of writings, I'm posting them on AO3 for you to read! I hope you enjoy these small writings, because they surely are fun to write.
> 
> Some General Notes About The Writing:  
> — The cat girl’s name is Tabitha, or Tabby for short. When using more cryptic dialogue, ‘Ardyn refers to her as his little ‘Tabby Cat.’ So people don’t know he’s really been corresponding with his daughter either.  
> — The time setting for the headcanons isn’t in the modern time era as the game takes place in. It takes place about 100 - 150 years prior, so something around the 1800′s - 1920′s. Like an industrial revolution for technology.  
> — Ardyn’s in Lucis around this time too, but it’s in an unspecified city that he meets Tabby.  
> — The mother in the headcanons remains mostly out of the picture, but is hinted to work nights and have many different ‘suitors’ that she sees as part of her work. She never brings her work home though.  
> — For those who are curious: Squishy is an orange Tabby cat.


End file.
